Eternal
by TheIrishC
Summary: Arwen searches for her reincarnated Aragorn
1. Default Chapter

He studied his painting, his eyes missing nothing but yet it still was not right.  
  
Moving away from his easel, he went to the open window to stare at the stars.  
  
Leaning against the windowsill, he allowed the night air to waft around him like a light blanket and slowly his eyes closed.  
  
It had been like this for days, this unsettling sensation of something trying to claim him but yet he didn't know what it was.  
  
Checking the time, he went downstairs and grabbed his coat to go for a walk.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
He hadn't gotten far before he felt weak and leaned against the old tree that was just beside the pathway that ran down to the lake on his property.  
  
"I amar prestar aen"  
  
He closed his eyes and turned around so that his back was against the tree.  
  
Staring up at the stars that were slowly appearing, he heard that voice again.  
  
"Your time will come. You will face the same evil and you will defeat it."  
  
Alexander Estel was not a man who believed in ghosts and the things that go bump in the night, but this was starting to unsettle him.  
  
There were dreams of a dark haired woman with big eyes that would appear to have swallowed the light of the world and shone for him alone, of battles that would have him awake and tense at 3 in the morning.  
  
But it was the language that troubled him. It made him feel as if his heart would break.  
  
Renech i lu i erui govannem  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
Arwen sat quietly at her desk, her fingers resting against her keyboard as she studied what she had typed in and then gave up.  
  
Her eyes fell to the calendar and then to her clock. "You can do this, only five more minutes."  
  
Getting up from the desk, her hand strayed to her neck to the touchstone that she swore would never leave her neck.  
  
The Evenstar felt cool to her touch and her mind as always on this day was on him.  
  
There was a knock at her door and she turned to find her assistant Kelly standing there with a mother hen expression on her face.  
  
"Arwen, did you want me to bring you anything for dinner?"  
  
She smiled and shook her head. "Nope, I'm going to actually be out of here at 5 if you can believe it."  
  
Kelly raised an eyebrow. "Are you ill?"  
  
Arwen smiled. "No. I'm on a week's vacation and intend to get out of the city."  
  
As Kelly wished her a safe journey, Arwen smiled and watched her go.  
  
The moment the door closed, Arwen looked at her hand.  
  
You said you'd bind yourself to me, forsaking the immortal life of your people.  
  
And to that I hold. I would rather share one lifetime with you than face all the ages of this world alone.  
  
She felt tears threaten to trickle down her cheeks.  
  
"And to that I HAVE held. I had no choice but to with the promise that was told to me. But melyanna, it has been so hard. How do I find you?"  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
Having decided that enough was enough, Alexander sat on his couch with a notebook and a tape recorder that was voice activated that way if he spoke in his sleep, he could catch it and try to see what was real and what was a stress induced hallucination from trying to make his quota of paintings for the show.  
  
Lying back, he was soon asleep and dreaming.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
They were once men, great kings of men. Then Sauron the Deceiver gave to them Nine Rings of Power. Blinded by their greed they took them without question, one by one falling to darkness. And now they are slaves to his will. They are the Nazgûl, Ringwraiths, neither living nor dead. At all times they feel the presence of the Ring, drawn to the power of the One...  
  
He felt feverish, tossing and turning on the couch, feeling as if he had been restrained by ropes and unable to free himself.  
  
I would have gone with you to the end. Into the very fires of Mordor.  
  
He felt a scream rising in his throat that died as the scenes of war shifted to one of peace as he saw himself in a boat, sailing towards two amazing sentries of stone.  
  
Frodo. The Argonath.  
  
Long have I desired to look upon the Kings of old, my kin  
  
It shifted again to a moon-kissed bridge with that angel placing something into his hands.  
  
Renech i lu i erui govannem?  
  
He woke up hearing himself speaking in real time.  
  
Nauthannem i ned ol reniannen 


	2. Eternal Chapter 2

Chapter 2  
  
Arwen drove through the dark countryside as if in a dream.  
  
Every year since the day she lost her heart to the tomb on the silent street, she made a pilgrimage back to the spot, since long forgotten by industry and humans just where it was that he had lay.  
  
This year was no different as she looked to the small bouquet that she had brought with her.  
  
She had taken seedlings with her of all the old plants and herbs, treasuring them in a way that would have made dear Samwise Gamgee so proud and so was able to create a small posy of elanor and niphredil, the flowers that had been the silent witnesses at the time of her greatest happiness for her memorial.  
  
You said you'd bind yourself to me, forsaking the immortal life of your people.  
  
She had had every intention of keeping that promise, but on the day of her arrival in Lorien as she came to lie on Cerin Amroth; she was met by an Istalindir who told her of something that gave her something to hold on to.  
  
"He will come again, the promise was made that you each would belong only to the other. Do not lose hope Undómiel."  
  
So it had been that a tiny spark had begun to bloom in her heart. The spark of hope that one day, she would see her beloved Estel alive again.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
Alexander had chosen to come and live in New Zealand for the simple reason it was as far away from his agent, who constantly phoned him and told him it was important because he was a celebrity.  
  
At least that was what he officially said to keep Elsie off of his back.  
  
It was really that it called to him. There was something about its beauty that made him feel calmer.  
  
He had to admit that he was certainly more prolific when he was amongst the safety of the rolling hills.  
  
But after the night of listening to himself speaking a strange language and dreaming of war, he wondered if there was not something leading him to this spot.  
  
He heard the thunder and so rolled onto his side to watch the light show that usually accompanied the storms of late.  
  
In the state where not fully awake and yet not fully asleep, he saw a battle play out against the back of his eyelids. Beside him was a blonde who turned to him and spoke in a tongue that he did not understand.  
  
His eyes shot open again.  
  
"This isn't real."  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
Arwen arrived just at sunrise and so got out of the car to allow the beauty to wash over her.  
  
Sitting there on the hood, she found herself praying again.  
  
"You see what I've fallen to?" She addressed the air. "You have me praying for you to hear me Estel."  
  
She slipped the necklace off her neck and brought it up to her eye level.  
  
"It was mine to give to whom I would. But you gave it back."  
  
She laid it on her lap and remembered the time that she had given it freely.  
  
As her head lowered, her cell phone began to ring.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
A stream of elvish flew out at her, causing her to roll her eyes.  
  
"Legolas for the love of the Seldarine why do you keep insisting on doing that?"  
  
He grinned as he leaned back in his chair. "Because you keep insisting on being what your not."  
  
"And what am I oh wise one?"  
  
He shook his head, fully aware of where she was and what day it was. So he chose his words carefully.  
  
"You my Princess are a chaser of futile dreams."  
  
She loved him dearly but there were times like this that she had wished Gimli had survived so that he could keep her elven kin in line.  
  
"And if I'm not, what if what I was told is true, that he is alive somewhere?"  
  
Legolas sat forward, resting his head in his hand.  
  
"Lisse'corm."  
  
She waved a hand in front of her face. "Don't do that, I'm not in the mood to be swaddled in the old ways by a busybody who continues to speak in something that is going to get him into trouble."  
  
He began to laugh. "Well the ladies to whom I speak elvish to, seem to think it's pretty hot."  
  
Arwen's face crinkled into an expression of disgust. "Legolas, I didn't need to HEAR that!"  
  
He continued to laugh. "Now that is the bratty Princess I know."  
  
"For a thousands of year old man that you are Legolas, you certainly haven't changed."  
  
For once, the laughter stopped.  
  
"And neither have you. Melyanna, you know he wouldn't want you to be this way."  
  
Squinting, Arwen blamed the rising sun for her tears.  
  
"I have to go Legolas, I will see you when I come home."  
  
Hanging up, she allowed herself a moment to calm down and then headed off to his spot.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
Alexander wasn't able to sleep after the dream of war and so got up and decided to try to find some inspiration in the sunrise.  
  
Grabbing his camera and some extra rolls of film, he headed out for the woods. 


	3. Eternal Chapter 3

As he headed for the forest, it was still early enough for some fog to be rolling around and he smiled, knowing that this would be a great time for some unearthly shots.  
  
Pausing only to make sure that everything was charged up ready to go, he could hear a voice.  
  
It was lyrical, soft but yet it was compelling him to move forward.  
  
"I amar prestar aen, han mathon ne nen, han mathon ne chae a han noston ned 'wilith. Estel, utu lle manke ma?"  
  
It was feather light and yet he felt the impact all the way through his body.  
  
Quietly he stalked through the grasses and found the young woman making her way in the opposite direction.  
  
She was dressed casually, jeans and a t-shirt with her hair loosely down her back in dark rivers of obsidian.  
  
Alex was finding it hard to see what was in her hands but he decided to quickly snap a few pictures of her.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
Arwen was standing at the edge of the lake, her wreath of flowers in her hands as she said a quick prayer and knelt down.  
  
As she laid the wreath on the water, she heard the snaps and turned around.  
  
The surprise allowed the elvish to totally escape her as she let out a curse.  
  
"What the hell?"  
  
He saw her coming towards him and the beauty made him take a step back.  
  
"Who are you?"  
  
Arwen stopped in her tracks as she heard the voice, but as it was hidden in shadows, was unable to see his face.  
  
"I could ask you the same question. Who would hide in shadows?"  
  
Alexander lowered the camera and saw that her eyes widened, tears sparkling in her eyes.  
  
"Are you alright?"  
  
Arwen found herself blinking madly and thanking god, her ada and anyone else she could think of that Legolas was not here to see this totally unelegant display on her part.  
  
"Miss?"  
  
It was him and yet not him and that contrast hurt her.  
  
Her beloved King was gruff and his aura was one who spent time outdoors in the roughest of situations.  
  
This man, was not.  
  
"Miss, are you alright?"  
  
She saw his hand reaching out to check on her and she instinctively stepped away.  
  
"I . um, I'm fine you just scared me."  
  
He gestured at the camera. "It's this. I'm sorry. I had come out to take some shots of the sunrise through the fog and saw you here. It was almost like I thought I had strayed into a dream . "  
  
He looked to her and saw that she was silent so he smiled and tried to make her at ease.  
  
"You must think I'm absolutely nuts."  
  
Arwen sighed and looked at him. "People do strange things in the name of art. No I do not think your absolutely nuts. I don't know you well enough to have an opinion."  
  
He seemed bedazzled as he asked her name.  
  
With a faint smile, she blushed and surprised them both with a rhyme of old.  
  
All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost. From the ashes a fire shall be woken, A light from the shadow shall spring; Renewed shall be blade that was broken, The crownless again shall be king.  
  
"I've seen you before." He stepped closer.  
  
She gathered her things and walked away with a faint gleam in her eye.  
  
"Of course you have. I'm sure that you have seen many things."  
  
Alexander was left to stand alone in the field with the realization once Arwen had gone, that he still didn't know her name. 


	4. Eternal Chapter 4

Alexander returned back to that spot several times over the next couple of days in the hope that she would be there, but she never showed up and this worried him. But soon the show moving closer ensured that the blue eyes that helped to haunt his sleep were banished to one side in all the chaos that mounting another of the "Estel Collection" Shows usually entailed. *~*~*~* Legolas sat still in the back of the car as his driver rambled on about the local scenery. "It is very lovely, yes." His eyes returned to scanning the horizon and remembering another time, when he and the fellowship had a purpose to be trampling over the land, when he could hear nature. "Instead of noise." "Did you say something sir?" Legolas smiled. "I asked if the song was by that group Art of Noise?" As the driver switched to talk of music, Legolas cursed Arwen's stubbornness, despite remembering the joy in her voice with the last left voice mail.  
  
"It's him, right down to the eyes. He had been right all along." He sighed, the weight of thousands of years of being her minder as she went on this quest for the other half of her soul heavily sitting on him as he looked out the window. "Melyanna, I hope for your sake as well as my own that this is the man you seek." He couldn't bear to hear the sobs like he had heard the night they laid Elessar in the silent street. Arwen had allowed herself only one night to cry for what had been and then after that heartbreaking night, her heart and soul were tucked away. She was an automaton. Legolas figured that was the night that Arwen turned against all things elvish. "I don't know who you are but please for all of our sakes. Don't hurt her." *~*~*~* Arwen had bought the land years before, so long that Legolas had even forgotten the exact date. However, it had been built and remodeled so many times that it now resembled its owner. It was light and elegant with whimsy running here and there throughout. Her favorite place was the open air chapel, with its wood work reminiscent of Rivendell, which was also the inspiration for the name of her home. It was there that she sat staring up at the stars. Her fingers ran idly over the simple silver mithril band that he had given her with its elegant elvish inscription inside. "How to handle this..." She heard him before she saw him and it was with a smile that he spoke without moving from the door. "You handle it with one foot in front of the other Princess." She nodded and turned to him. "Queen to you, you lowly Prince of Mirkwood." The regalness cracked fast as he came at her with a look of disgust. She could barely make out what he was muttering under his breath. "So, I'm just a lowly Prince of Mirkwood, well I wonder what that makes you, my dear Princess of Rivendell." She lunged for him, her smile as bright as Erendil. "That makes us, friends and kin." 


	5. Eternal Chapter 5

"What was the inspiration for that one?"  
  
Alexander turned to see the image and smiled, it had been the woman of his dreams but yet in two separate forms, one modern as she smiled from over her shoulder while the other who was faintly behind her was ghostly and yet very clear with her sad blue eyes.  
  
With a twinkle in his own eyes, he leaned over. "Do you believe in ghosts?"  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
Arwen sat in the car, her whole demeanor one of pensive tension.  
  
"Do you plan to join me?"  
  
She turned her head and looked at Legolas, who leaned with one arm against the side of the car, the other at his side.  
  
With a sigh, she shook her head.  
  
"No, I figured I would stay here and test out the fine Corinthian leather." The exasperation in his eyes made her smile at him. "Of COURSE I plan to join you."  
  
Carefully she made her way to the edge of the seat and gracefully slipped out of the car.  
  
She looked a vision in simple white, her hair held up with clips and the rest down in waves of ink.  
  
Legolas looked at her and his blue eyes grew darker. "You're scared."  
  
She surprised them both by nodding. "Yes, yes I am and you should be too. Legolas, this changes everything."  
  
He nodded. "This changes nothing. Princess, you've known this would come. You've held onto that all this time. You take this as it comes."  
  
Gently laying his arm around her, he pointed to the gallery.  
  
"We're going to go inside; you're going to find him AFTER I check him out."  
  
He chuckled as Arwen clamped her eyes shut and let out an "aw no."  
  
"For all we know, he could look like him but be my dwarf reincarnated. Arwen he needs to be seen by someone who doesn't see him with the eyes of his greatest love."  
  
She sighed. "You're right." Catching the gleam in his eyes, she pointed a finger.  
  
"Don't start."  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
Alexander stood quietly listening to Elsie rambling about how much of a success the show was.  
  
"You've practically sold everything here Alex."  
  
Catching on that he wasn't listening, Elsie turned to look at him with worry in her eyes.  
  
"Are you alright?"  
  
He nodded as he caught sight of the two newest visitors.  
  
It was her and he felt his heart skip a beat at the sight of her dressed so simply as she stopped at the canvas of the two hers.  
  
"Please turn around; please turn around oh please just turn around."  
  
He stopped himself for sounding like a teen with a crush.  
  
"I don't know her, she doesn't know me and I'm being a fool."  
  
As he made his way towards her, a young man with intensely blue eyes waylaid him.  
  
"I want to talk with you Estel."  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
Arwen stood quietly at the self-portrait and tilted her head.  
  
It was like looking at a fog shrouded figure of someone you knew and not knowing at the same time and it made her wonder just how he dreamt of her.  
  
Coming closer, she looked up at the corner of the painting and her eyes widened.  
  
"He can't be remembering that."  
  
Her eyes closed as she remembered when she had come to him in Gondor.  
  
After tidying up from the long journey, she came to join him in the garden and the smile on his face would linger in her heart for the rest of her days.  
  
He finally had her, no more fear, no more doubt and no more time apart.  
  
The dreamy haze faded with her hearing Legolas call him out.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
Alexander looked at the younger man and wondered where it was he had seen him before.  
  
Legolas was in a loose fitting dark suit with a white shirt with no tie, his hair cut to his shoulders.  
  
To look at him, Alexander figured that he was a rock star, some sort of a celebrity because of the out of the ordinary looks.  
  
"Can I help you?"  
  
He nodded. "I just wanted to say hello and to also say how wonderful the artwork of my cousin is."  
  
Alexander blinked. "Cousin."  
  
Before he could speak, Arwen appeared.  
  
"You have to forgive him, he's rather impulsive. I keep trying to beat it out of him but it's not working."  
  
The icy glare from him sent her into giggles.  
  
Once she was calmer, Arwen held out her hand.  
  
"I should properly introduce myself and the henchman here."  
  
He nodded, dumbstruck at the glare from the other man.  
  
"I'm Arwen Undomiel and this, this is Legolas."  
  
Alexander could only nod in response and wished he could find his voice.  
  
Staring at the young man who was turned sideways to Arwen, it suddenly hit him where he had seen him.  
  
It had been on the castle battlements, in the rain at his side as he led the charge.  
  
Alexander shook his head, stepping quickly away from them.  
  
"This isn't real, it's an hallucination and I have to get away from you both."  
  
Horrified, Arwen stepped forward and tried to calm him.  
  
"It IS real and we can explain but you must listen. Please?"  
  
He paused for a moment and then nodded as he yanked on her arm.  
  
"Lets go."  
  
To the sounds of a protesting Legolas, Alexander yanked her out of the gallery.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
"You wanted to talk, so then . talk."  
  
Arwen peered at him from the corner of her eye in a manner not unlike Galadriel when she was displeased.  
  
"You want to lower that tone of voice?"  
  
Alexander's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "And who are you to order me?"  
  
With a sigh, she lowered her arms and shrugged. "Really doesn't matter. With that tone of voice and your whole aura, you wouldn't believe me even if I groveled Estel, a'mael."  
  
He fought the urge to take her in his arms. "My name is Alexander, why do you insist on calling me by my last name?"  
  
Arwen wished that Legolas was here to help her with this. There were times in the past that he had played peacemaker between the two strong willed souls of the King and his beloved Arwen.  
  
"Amin ." She shrugged. "sina." Feeling frustrated, she slipped back into English for his sake.  
  
"Where I come from, to call someone that I don't know by their first name is a sign of disrespect."  
  
He felt foolish and so nodded. "Okay."  
  
She peeked at him again and decided to make the first step.  
  
"The other reason is that Estel means to hope in my language and it's the one word that I've been clinging to since the day that I met you in the forest."  
  
She watched him and felt like crying at the furrow that appeared in his brow as he tried to work that out in his mind.  
  
In the past when that appeared on the face she knew like her own, Arwen was able to come and lighten the load on her love's shoulders and with her own ways, kiss and make the lines of worry or confusion disappear.  
  
That was then, this was now and the man in front of her had her conflicted.  
  
"Why have you?"  
  
"Because you've haunted me."  
  
She began to pace the length of the rooftop patio.  
  
"This is going to be hard to believe, but you and I have known each other before."  
  
Alexander shook his head. "Not so hard to believe."  
  
She was expecting anger, rage, denial any number of emotions to come from this man but not this, NOT acceptance of the possibilities that she represented by just being there.  
  
He stepped forward. "I've been having dreams for weeks, since I've been here in New Zealand, of things that I don't know. Of people who spoke strange things, words that made me feel like I lost something precious."  
  
Coming to a stop inches from Arwen he stopped himself from grabbing her.  
  
"I dreamt of you before I knew you, I've seen Lego." he threw up his hand. "Whatever his name was."  
  
Arwen chuckled. "Legolas." She shrugged. "It's um, a family name."  
  
He came to sit beside her on the wall. "It's weird."  
  
She let out a low laugh that had him thinking of church bells or wind chimes.  
  
"If you think that one is weird, wait until I tell you about yours." 


	6. Eternal Chapter 6

"Why wouldn't I believe it?"  
  
She found it hard to tear herself away from the depth of his eyes.  
  
"Because you were once a leader of men, the greatest hope of the age."  
  
Standing up, she willed herself to be the daughter of Elrond and granddaughter of Galadriel and speak without shaking from nerves.  
  
"You had many names but were known as Aragorn."  
  
He tilted his head and studied her quietly in the pale moonlight.  
  
"And what was I to you?"  
  
Alexander saw her blush. "A friend."  
  
His voice dropped lower. "A friend? That's not what I saw in my dreams."  
  
He knew he scored correctly when her hand went behind her back.  
  
"Wha . what did you see in your dreams?"  
  
Coming to her, he spoke honestly.  
  
"I have seen you standing over me in black with tears, I have seen you laughing in my arms, your hand coming to caress my cheek and you said something that I didn't understand."  
  
She sighed and it was like he was an instrument being played by the sound.  
  
"Estel, I said many things to you in that time."  
  
He shook his head. "This isn't right. This means your ."  
  
She nodded. "Several thousands of years old."  
  
He paused. "What about?"  
  
Arwen burst out laughing. "He's older than me."  
  
"I am not."  
  
They turned to find Legolas coming at them, his eyes nearly black with rage.  
  
To both men's surprise, Arwen spoke. "Ta il coiasira ten dagora."  
  
Legolas stopped dead in his tracks. "No, no it's not time for battle cousin, but it is time for sleep. Arwen its 4 in the morning and Alexander's had a long day."  
  
He looked to his new yet old acquaintance. 


	7. Eternal Chapter 7

"You look as if you need a place to lie down."  
  
Alexander shook his head. "I still can't believe this. I'm a reincarnated King. Somehow I should be screaming that you're lying, that this is a joke. A trick. But yet here I am and this is seeming right."  
  
Legolas grinned in reply. "Yes here you are and you have many questions I have no doubt."  
  
Alexander was about to speak when his eyes fell on a sleeping Arwen.  
  
She was curled up in a chair, her legs tucked in under her and a hand pressed to her cheek, far away from them in dreams.  
  
She looked so utterly sweet but it was her smile that stole his heart.  
  
Seeing where his mind was, Legolas nodded.  
  
"She's fought so long to get to this point. Everything in her life was Aragorn." He smiled. "You."  
  
He reached for the throw blanket that had been on the edge of the bed and handed it to Alexander.  
  
"From the moment they met. She knew." He shrugged. "Even when her father tried to sway her, she knew her destiny was to be intertwined with yours."  
  
"How, how did she know this?"  
  
Legolas gave him a nudge, sending him forward to gently lay the blanket over her.  
  
"Arwen is descended from another elf maiden named Luthien who made the same choice that she did. To love completely another human male and like Arwen, she gave up her immortality. You two first met as you were singing of Luthien. It was fate coming full circle again."  
  
Alexander felt totally unsettled as he laid the baby soft blanket against Arwen who whimpered at the touch and twisted slightly so that he could see the necklace at her throat.  
  
"That's lovely."  
  
Peeking over, Legolas nodded. "Yes, yes it is. That's the Evenstar, the protector of Arwen's immortality."  
  
With a shaking hand, he reached out to lightly almost reverently graze his fingertips against it.  
  
"As Aragorn, she had given it to you as the symbol of her choice. That come what may she was yours."  
  
Alexander tilted his head, studying the one thing that was so small but yet in another was terrifyingly big in significance.  
  
"How did she get it back?"  
  
"Get what back?"  
  
Alexander couldn't take his eyes off of the jewels in front of him. "Her immortality?"  
  
Legolas began to pace and didn't respond so Alexander turned back to face him.  
  
"Legolas?"  
  
"Arwen was carrying the baby who was destined to be the heir of Gondor when she had been attacked by a poison that had been introduced into her food by one of Gondor's enemies who had slipped a spy into the household."  
  
His expressive eyes showed clearly the turmoil of that horrific time as he found the words to speak.  
  
"She was slipping away and Aragorn . you . had been so utterly devastated that in your fear for her, you gave her back the choice of immortality, you would rather have her and the child living in the Grey Havens safe from harm than have her die in front of your eyes with the babe."  
  
Feeling tears coming, Alexander turned back to her.  
  
"Arwen, as you may have guessed is as stubborn as the summer sun and so she and the child survived. But you never took the Evenstar back from her again."  
  
Standing up, he paused to lean over and gently kiss her cheek.  
  
"Good night Legolas."  
  
With eyes twinkling, Legolas replied back. "Good Morning Alexander." 


	8. Eternal Chapter 8

Song Lyrics by Savage Garden .  
Maybe its intuition  
  
But some things you just don't question  
  
It had been hours since Alexander had taken leave of Legolas and Arwen, but yet his body wasn't tired despite his claims to the contrary with the Elves.  
  
He had the paintbrush in his hand as he studied the work that he had begun with the image of Arwen in his mind's eye.  
  
The touches of palest ivory with hints of sapphire blue here and there along with kisses of rose and it was like a dream made reality.  
  
Arwen..  
  
He smiled at the revelations of the night before and to his surprise, he found that he was accepting this more and more.  
  
This surprised him to the core of his soul. He had always believed that he didn't believe in much, a life growing up on the streets in orphanages till the age of 11 ensured that. He knew that he had himself and finally with the help of his adoptive parents, he began to believe in his talent. His art was unique and that helped to get him out of the circle of darkness.  
  
They had only talked the night before, but he wanted more.  
  
Like in your eyes  
  
I see my future in an instant  
  
and there it goes  
  
He chuckled at the thought of soul mates and his mind turned to Legolas.  
  
I think I've found my best friend  
  
"Oh if they could see this it would be too funny." He shook his head and continued with the painting, ignoring the telephone ringing behind him and dismissing the sound of his voice on the answering machine.  
  
I know that it might sound more than  
  
a little crazy but I believe  
  
Arwen sat with the cell phone in her lap as she watched Legolas fuss with his laptop.  
  
"Is he there?"  
  
She shrugged. "If he is, would you blame him for not answering?" She closed the flip top of the phone.  
  
"We told him this incredible tale, still haven't told him about the ears yet and he left without saying goodbye." She stood up. "I wouldn't answer either."  
  
Legolas chose that moment to grin. "He said goodbye to me." She rolled her eyes. "I swear at times like this, I want Gimli back."  
  
I knew I loved you before I met you  
  
Alexander was coming out of his house when he saw the Jeep coming up his driveway, a familiar face behind the wheel that brought a smile to his lips.  
  
I think I dreamed you into life  
  
She was dressed simply in jeans again, but this time in a white camp shirt open to show a camisole underneath. Her sunglasses were tucked up in her dark curls.  
  
Arwen saw him smiling and couldn't help but smile back.  
  
I knew I loved you before I met you  
  
I have been waiting all my life  
  
"Does Legolas know you're out alone?"  
  
She grinned back, liking this lighter hearted side to the man in front of her.  
  
"Alexander, I am nearly as old as the world. I CAN be allowed to travel within it without a gleeful busybody elf, kin or not."  
  
There's just no rhyme or reason  
  
only this sense of completion  
  
The smile faded. "I can't get used to that. You look no more than in your twenties and yet, you're as old as the world."  
  
The wind picked up a bit, blowing her dark hair in front of her face and Alexander found himself thanking god that he could reach out and touch her skin.  
  
They weren't quite midnight blue and they weren't totally sapphire but they were deep enough for him to feel like he was drowning.  
  
and in your eyes  
  
I see the missing pieces  
  
"You're cold."  
  
He blinked and saw worry shining in her eyes.  
  
I'm searching for  
  
I think I found my way home  
  
He smiled as he began to remove his hand only to have her pin his hand in place against her cheek.  
  
I know that it might sound more than  
  
a little crazy but I believe  
  
She spoke so low that he found it hard to hear her. "Arwen?"  
  
She stepped closer into him, her head tilted as his arm slipped around her to steady them both.  
  
"Estel, I simply said this."  
  
Her fingers took on a life of their own as they traced the familiar and yet unknown plains of his face.  
  
I knew I loved you before I met you  
  
I think I dreamed you into life  
  
I knew I loved you before I met you  
  
I have been waiting all my life  
  
He lowered his lips to hers and knew he was lost.  
  
A thousand angels dance around you  
  
I am complete now that I found you  
  
Alexander didn't know how he broke the kiss, but he did and saw Arwen looking rather dazed.  
  
With gentle hands, he stroked her face as if she was a piece of art.  
  
I knew I loved you before I met you  
  
I think I dreamed you into life  
  
I knew I loved you before I met you  
  
She sighed then stepped away, earning a worried "Arwen?" in reply.  
  
Looking at her hands for a moment, she reached into her pocket and pulled out something.  
  
Alexander wondered briefly what it was until she turned back around and held out her hand.  
  
I have been waiting all my life  
  
As she opened it, he saw a ring with an enormous emerald in its center.  
  
"This was once yours. It should be yours again." 


End file.
